IT recruitment agencies versus 'high street' Agencies for jobs

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Which would be considered the 'best' for finding an IT job, specialist IT recruitment agencies or high street agencies (such as Reed).

What are other members experiences?

I have this feeling that if I went to a high street agency and said I've got the 'A+', they might say 'well done, you got an A'

 

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Well, if they don't know what the A+ is, do you think they're going to be the best agency to be able to find you a job?

Only way to find out for sure whether they know or not is to contact them.

 

Im with Ken here.
Though my experience has been the online IT agencies followed by the IT Job sites and then the ordinary IT agencies.

And the only key is persistance. Register with the whole lot of them. They dont care who else you're registered with, just that they can place someone in a job and get the commission.
So apply for everything close to what you want and follow up each application and cv.

And dont pay anyone for any help in cvs or applications!

I contracted for a few years before I went native, so I had a lot of experience with the agencies and the applications process.

 

Well, it's not the only key... but it is a primary one.

I disagree with this. Some people simply can't design a CV or a resume well. You've got only 15 seconds to get the attention of an employer. A horribly constructed CV can cause a potential employer to quickly send your CV to the trash pile. Spending some carefully considered cash on a GOOD CV editor/designer can make a world of difference. Be careful, though: there are likely some scam artists out there who think they know how to edit a CV, but can do more harm than good.

 

One of my friends paid about £50 to have someone "revamp" his CV. It got him a job after months of trying. And you wouldn't believe how many others are now using the same format etc for theirs. It can be very worthwhile considering this.

 

£50?!!? Are they mad. I'll do it for the price of a pint!

I've never had any problems with my CV, the key is to keep it concise, well laid out and profressional looking. That means no wacky fonts, no rubbish laying out. If you need help i'm more than happy to try and look at it for you.

The more people who start paying agencies to rework their CV's the more the CV's look the same, its not going to be long before employers start noticing that the prospective employee can't even work out how to present themselves on a CV.

 

The IT Job Board surveyed over 250 IT candidates to compile a list of the best permanent and contract agencies according to the IT community.

- The top 5 Permanent Recruitment agencies were;

1. Computer Futures
2. Connections Recruitment
3. Huxley Associates
4. Elan IT
5. Reed Technology

Computer Futures has been recognised because; they are skilled at matching candidate requirements with client needs – as candidates feel they are sending them to relevant interviews.

Whilst Connections Recruitment has been nominated frequently for their well rounded service provided to candidates.


- The top 5 Contract Recruitment agencies

1. Hays Information Technology
2. Elan IT
3. Square One Resources
4. Computer Futures
5. Abraxas

Hays Information Technology topped the list with more votes than any other IT contract agency, the key reason is; they invest time to ensure they understand what IT candidates are looking for.

A close second was Elan IT who was a popular choice for contractors as; they provide useful feedback post interview and they are a specialist in the IT sector.

 

Thanks Sarah

It's good to see an independent survey from someone with no axe to grind

 

OK, I accept some people just cant write cvs, and especially concise ones, my point was there are good forums and sites like this one where people are willing to help and if necessary give copies of their own cvs or at least the format of them to you for free.

And generally the people will also tell you how successful any particular one or style was. The proportion of call backs and interest it generated and so on.

Just remember most jobs have loads of cvs going in so human nature says the guy reading them will probably only proprly read the first half page or so, then skim the rest. He'll almost definitely never read a third page.

MatD 's price of a pint is far more reasonable, only pay him half up front tho!

Save your money for a new shirt and tie!